Speedometer dial and indicator.



G. C. DIXON & W. N. HASKELL.

SPEEDOMETER DIAL AND INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2. 1916.

1,272,396. Patelited July 16, 1918,.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented duty. 11h, 19m.

Application filed Stovernber 3, acre. Serial No. 1991M.

To all whom it may concern:

United States, residing at,

Be it known that We, Gnonon G. DIXON and WALTER N. HAsKELL, citizens of the respectively, Dixon, Lee count Illinois, and Sterling, in the county of iteside and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Speedometer Dials and Indicators, of which the following is a specification. 7

Our invention pertains to speedometer dials,and indicators, for use in devices of that class which are employed toshow at what rate of speed a motor vehicle is travcling. Thepresent device is designed to be located at some prominent position on the outside of the car, to indicate toothers than the" occupants thereof at what speed the car is beingo erated.

Most o the States, andpossibly all of them, have passed laws, regulatin the rate of speed at which automobiles shal be driven under varying conditions, but these laws are frequently avoided, and prosecutions under them fail, on account of the great difficulty in determining whether or. not the speed limit has been exceeded. Drivers of'motor propelled vehicles who have a desire to disregard such laws, are more inclined to do soat night-time. when the matter of estimatin 4 the s eed of the'vehicle'is still more (lifiicu t. ith the constantly increasing number of such vehicles throughout the country. a'regard for the safety of life and limb-of other travelers upon the highways demands that the laws' he more rigidly enforced, and that reckless-drivers be made to carry with them some means for indicating to others the rate of speed at which they are moving. r

Our invention renders it easy to determine, either in the day-time or at night, the

number of miles which the car is traveling in an hour, or such other-pained oi'time as may tie-predetermined. Y

he construction, arrangement, and 05% oration of the parts of our machine wilt more fully appear in the following-specification, re rcnce being-had to the accompanying the some, in which:

Figure 1 shows our invention, in'tront drawings eievation. Fig. 2 is a vertical inediai sec;

tion through the casing l, ontheline :c-ic of 1.

Similar numbers of reference indicate cating hand or pointer 6, extending; outwardly to the index on the face of the dlai.

Just within the index 4 the dial is pro vided with a circle divided into a number of arcs 7, 8, 9, it) and 11, each of said arcs be- I ing formed of colored'glass or other transparent material, except the first one, which is clear. In rear of the circle formed of said arcs is a light-bulb 12, carried on an arm 13, jfixed to the'shaft 5, just in rear of the indicator 6, and adapted to travel therewith at all times on the rotation of the shaft/5. A 7

current of electricity may be furnished to the bulb 12 from the lighting devices of the car, so that the same may be provided with the car are turned on.

The device is preferably intended to he at- ,light at any time that the other'lights of tached at the rear of a vehicle, and the'sha ft 5 can be actuated from the drive-shaft of the car, in any known method whereby the speed oi such drive-shaft may he imparted to said shatt 5 to causea proper movement ot-the hand :6 upon the face oi" thedial, it not hein considered necessary in the present appication to show any specific means for accomplishing that result;

The arcs 8, 9, l0 and 11 are formed of various colors, as indicated in thedrawings, 8 being blue, 9 green, 10 red, and 11 yeiiow.

p 0 The inner field or the dad 3 which is not transparent is divided into sectors M, i5, 16, 1?, and 15:5, corresponding. in posit-ion and enter to the arcs of thc-oir-cie, and the hand 6 is of acoior contrasting with all of the coiors of said ti'eid except the; firs named, and preierahiy white. By this means the position of t e indicator d anon the diai can-he discerned at. a eonsndcrahio distance. and to a person somewhat iamiliar therewith, the position oi? such indicatorthe field it would show at once that the car was being operated at speed somewhere between ten and fifteen miles; on the green field, from fifteen to thirty miles per hour, and if about the center of the green field, somewhere between twenty and twenty-five miles per hour, and so on with the other colors. After dark the illuminated arc would show the position of the indicator and give information of the approximate speed of the vehicle in the same manner. To further aid in indicating the position of the hand 6, the outer end thereof may be provided with an opening 19, just in rear of which is the lamp 12, a spot of color corresponding with that of the are in rear of which the lamp is positioned being thus presented to the eye. If a red light is visible it shows the car to be traveling between thirty and forty-five miles an hour. and the position of such light on the ninety degree are 10 would be eashy readable, and indicate almost the exact rate of speed to'one familiar with the markings on the dial.

As shown in the drawings, there would be no contrast in the color of the hand 6 and that portion of the dial field immediately in rear thereof, and at night only a white light would show in the are adjacent to such sector cf the field, showing the car to be moving at a very moderate rate of speed.

The various colorsindicated on the drawings and in the description herein are not arbitrary, but may be varied at will, and changes can be made in the form and arran ement of the several parts and features of e invention without departing from th sco e and spirit thereof.

r. y reason of the entire field of the dial being divided into colored sectors, with sur-- rounding ares of e si or color, it is pos sible to use a dial of considerably less die a eter than would he the case if a relativ 1y less amount of such dial were provided with such indicating means.

l' vhat we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United is:

In a ti vice of the class named, a dial, provided Witha suitable index, he f a d, a lighting device it sections, EOJ" masses dial; and a lighting device in rear of said transparent sections, movable comcidently with said indicator.

'cator.

.4. A device of the class described, comprisin a casing, a dial fixed therein and provi ed with a suitable index; a shaft rotatably mounted cent ally of said casing; an indicator fixed to said shaft and operable on the face of said dial; a plurality of vuri-colored arcs in the face of said dial; and a lighting device fixed to said shaft and movable in rear of said arcs coincidently with said indicator.

5. A device of the class described, comprising a dial provided with a suitable inde-x'; a plurality of va'ri-colored arcs in the face of said dial; a shaft rotatably mounted centrally of said dial; a lighting device carried by said shaft and movable in rear of said arcs; an indicator fixed to said shaft and movable ccmcidently with said lighting device; and a plurality of sectors adjacent to said arcs, and correspondin in color therewith, and traversed by said indicator.

6., In a device of theclass described, a dial provided with a plurality of vari-colored sections; a lighting device movable in rear of saidsections; an indicator movable in fro-ht of said colored sections coincidently with said lighting device, and provided with opening at apoint opposite thereto.

.7. A device of the class described, comprising a suitaoly mounted dial; a plurality of vari-colored transparent sections in the face of said dial; a I lurality of field sections corresponding as or with said transparent ctions; an indicator adapted to coincitly traverse soi transparent and lield sections and co ast g color therefrom; means the rear face or said dial.

"w testimony whereof we afiz; our signasores in the presence of witnesses.

Lunar, 

